A Revolting Slug? No, a Valuable Food

For more than 200 years prior to 1900, fishers from Makassar sailed each December to the coasts of Arnhem Land or the Kimberley to set up camp to fish for trepang; otherwise known romantically as ‘Beche de Mer’, or simply ‘sea slugs’. The fishers would catch trepang in the coastal waters, gut them, boil them, then bury them in the sand, where they cooled slowly. To preserve them the fishers would dig up the cooked trepang then dry them in the sun or smoke them over a low fire. After processing, the trepang resembled a Cuban cigar. The fishers would securely pack their catch for transport then, in April, they would return to Makassar in preparation for selling to Chinese traders. In China, trepang, which is basically pure protein, is a prized delicacy used to this day for making soups and stews as well as for medicine.  

By the mid- 1800s, the fleet from Makassar was supplying around 900 tonnes of trepang to China each year. By the end of the 1800s the trade was in decline. In 1901, after federation, the new Australian Government attempted to protect Australia’s territorial integrity by banning trepangers from the Dutch East Indies from fishing in Australian waters. In that era word-of-mouth was the most common form of communication, and word spread slowly. It was not until 1907 that the last visit to Arnhem Land by a prahu from Makassar to fish for trepang took place. 

A group of Aboriginal women cleaning and drying trepang for export. Photographed by pearler Reg Bourne, who made many trips to Yampi Sound, north of Cape Leveque.
Credit: Bourne Collection, MHL 787